...And the 'R' stands for Rudolph.
So he dies at Xmas time...
Is this just a coincidence...or reindeer's revenge?
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
FROM JUBA N @ HAWKWIND FAN LIST
SEASON'S GREETINGS - if I'm still alllowed...
"Please accept with no obligation, express or implied, my best wishes for
an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive,
gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most
enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or
secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions
and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of
the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect
for the calendars of choice of other cultures, and without regard to the race, creed, colour, sex,
age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wishee.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:
This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal at any time.
It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting.
It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement
any of the wishes for her/himself or others,
is void where prohibited by law,
and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.
This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the
usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or
until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and
warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance
of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.
*********************
And to those of you not easily offended:
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!! "
And that goes double from me...
"Please accept with no obligation, express or implied, my best wishes for
an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive,
gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most
enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or
secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions
and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of
the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect
for the calendars of choice of other cultures, and without regard to the race, creed, colour, sex,
age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wishee.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:
This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal at any time.
It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting.
It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement
any of the wishes for her/himself or others,
is void where prohibited by law,
and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.
This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the
usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or
until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and
warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance
of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.
*********************
And to those of you not easily offended:
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!! "
And that goes double from me...
FROM JEREMY ALLISON @ SAMBA.ORG
"When enough people decide that an activity is legal, in a democracy such a thing eventually becomes legal.
Look at the way the drug laws have changed in Europe. It's a sign of how damaged American democracy has
become that the same thing hasn't happened here. The Internet is a massive threat to some people,
and if we don't fight to keep it, we deserve to lose it. I'll end with a "fair use" quote from one of my favorite 70's bands,
Hawkwind which seems appropriate somehow, and append one line of my own :
- Welcome to the oceans in a labeled can,
- Welcome to the dehydrated lands,
- Welcome to the self police parade,
- Welcome to the neo-golden age,
- Welcome to the days you've made
Welcome to the land of "Nothing for free"."
Amen brother, truer words were never spoken...
Friday, December 22, 2006
MERRY XMAS
"I wish you a Merry Xmas and a happy New Year;
a pocket full of money and a cooler full of beer"
anon.
LAST 6 BOOKS READ
1) Sargasso by Edwin Corley: The Sargasso Sea, the Bermuda Triangle, and an interesting
possible solution to the Triangle mystery. Pretty good adventure story.
2) The Thomas Berryman Number by James Patterson: An early work by the creator of
Alex Cross. It's a good thing that he came up with Alex Cross, this was a somewhat confusing
story of murder and politics that was hard to follow at times.
3) What If? vol.1 by Richard Lupoff,ed: Not at all what I thought when I bought it. Assumed
it was an alternate history collection; instead it turns out it's the editor's concept of stories
that should have one the Hugo award but didn't. After reading them, I don't think most of them should have won instead of the actual winners.
4) Velocity by Dean Koontz: Billy Wiles gets a note and has to decide which of 2 unknown people
lives and which one doesn't. From there it escalates until Billy fights back. Excellent
Koontz book, possibly one of his better ones.
5) A Pirate Looks At Fifty by Jimmy Buffett: Yes he does, and then writes this travelogue/memoir. And a fascinating one it is, not only can the man write songs, but
he can just plain write.
6) 3rd Degree by James Patterson: Lindsay Boxer vs home grown terrorists in this one.
SPOILER ALERT: In this one - one of the murder club women dies.
possible solution to the Triangle mystery. Pretty good adventure story.
2) The Thomas Berryman Number by James Patterson: An early work by the creator of
Alex Cross. It's a good thing that he came up with Alex Cross, this was a somewhat confusing
story of murder and politics that was hard to follow at times.
3) What If? vol.1 by Richard Lupoff,ed: Not at all what I thought when I bought it. Assumed
it was an alternate history collection; instead it turns out it's the editor's concept of stories
that should have one the Hugo award but didn't. After reading them, I don't think most of them should have won instead of the actual winners.
4) Velocity by Dean Koontz: Billy Wiles gets a note and has to decide which of 2 unknown people
lives and which one doesn't. From there it escalates until Billy fights back. Excellent
Koontz book, possibly one of his better ones.
5) A Pirate Looks At Fifty by Jimmy Buffett: Yes he does, and then writes this travelogue/memoir. And a fascinating one it is, not only can the man write songs, but
he can just plain write.
6) 3rd Degree by James Patterson: Lindsay Boxer vs home grown terrorists in this one.
SPOILER ALERT: In this one - one of the murder club women dies.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
JUST ANOTHER RANDOM THOUGHT
If you don't know how to spell, and someone buys
you a dictionary...
...how do you know where to find the word you want?
JUST A RANDOM THOUGHT
If you go to the grocery store and buy a can of milk thinking that it's
condensed milk; you get it home and the can is empty...
...does that mean you actually bought evaporated milk?
condensed milk; you get it home and the can is empty...
...does that mean you actually bought evaporated milk?
Friday, December 15, 2006
LAST 6 BOOKS READ
1) Napalm & Silly Putty by George Carlin: 2 inventions of the 20th century. A sometimes humorous look at the mind of George Carlin. Of course, he was funnier when he was stoned.
2) Mary, Mary by Ed McBain: Another murder mystery in Calusa Florida, with lawyer Matthew Hope unraveling the threads. And yes, she is contrary, and she does have a garden...
3) Return Of The Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov: Once again Henry the waiter solves all the puzzles. Unfortunately, it does wear thin after awhile.
4) The Quorum by Kim Newman: The Faust story updated to the 20th century. What if there
were 4 friends, and 3 of them could have everything for as long as they screwed up the 4th
friends life - without letting him know. If you could do it - would you??
5) The Beast by A.E.VanVogt: Another old SF novel better left forgotten.
6) X-Ray by Ray Davies: Kinks frontman tells his story by pretending to be someone
else hearing his story from himself. Confusing, yeah, at times. But an interesting look
at the Kinks story.
2) Mary, Mary by Ed McBain: Another murder mystery in Calusa Florida, with lawyer Matthew Hope unraveling the threads. And yes, she is contrary, and she does have a garden...
3) Return Of The Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov: Once again Henry the waiter solves all the puzzles. Unfortunately, it does wear thin after awhile.
4) The Quorum by Kim Newman: The Faust story updated to the 20th century. What if there
were 4 friends, and 3 of them could have everything for as long as they screwed up the 4th
friends life - without letting him know. If you could do it - would you??
5) The Beast by A.E.VanVogt: Another old SF novel better left forgotten.
6) X-Ray by Ray Davies: Kinks frontman tells his story by pretending to be someone
else hearing his story from himself. Confusing, yeah, at times. But an interesting look
at the Kinks story.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
LET'S PUT CHRIST BACK IN CHRISTIANITY
By Jay Bakker and Marc Brown
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Jay Bakker, son of former Praise The Lord leaders Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, is minister of Revolution Church and subject of a new documentary series, "One Punk Under God," on Sundance Channel. Marc Brown is a Revolution staff member.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- What the hell happened? Where did we go wrong? How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity.
While the current state of Christianity might seem normal and business-as-usual to some, most see through the judgment and hypocrisy that has permeated the church for so long. People witness this and say to themselves, "Why would I want to be a part of that?" They are turned off by Christians and eventually, to Christianity altogether. We can't even count the number of times someone has given us a weird stare or completely brushed us off when they discover we work for a church.
So when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed forth by certain groups today? Some say it was during the rise of Conservative Christianity in the early 1980s with political action groups like the Moral Majority. Others say it goes way back to the 300s, when Rome's Christian Emperor Constantine initiated a set of laws limiting the rights of Roman non-Christians. Regardless of the origin, one thing is crystal clear: It's not what Jesus stood for.
His parables and lessons were focused on love and forgiveness, a message of "come as you are, not as you should be." The bulk of his time was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to help themselves. At the very least, Christians should be counted on to lend a helping hand to the poor and others in need.
This brings us to the big issues of American Christianity: Abortion and gay marriage. These two highly debatable topics will not be going away anytime soon. Obviously, the discussion centers around whether they are right or wrong, but is the screaming really necessary? After years of witnessing the dark side of religion, Marc and I think not.
Christians should be able to look past their differences and agree to disagree. This allows people to discuss issues with respect for one another. Christians are called to love others just as they are, without an agenda. Only then will Christianity see a return to its roots: Loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.
The Apostle Paul describes this idea of love beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
But don't take our word for it; look at what Jesus and his followers stood for in his time and what Christianity stands for today. Then come to your own conclusion.
Now that's something that's hard to argue with...if you have a mind that can think for itself...
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Jay Bakker, son of former Praise The Lord leaders Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, is minister of Revolution Church and subject of a new documentary series, "One Punk Under God," on Sundance Channel. Marc Brown is a Revolution staff member.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- What the hell happened? Where did we go wrong? How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity.
While the current state of Christianity might seem normal and business-as-usual to some, most see through the judgment and hypocrisy that has permeated the church for so long. People witness this and say to themselves, "Why would I want to be a part of that?" They are turned off by Christians and eventually, to Christianity altogether. We can't even count the number of times someone has given us a weird stare or completely brushed us off when they discover we work for a church.
So when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed forth by certain groups today? Some say it was during the rise of Conservative Christianity in the early 1980s with political action groups like the Moral Majority. Others say it goes way back to the 300s, when Rome's Christian Emperor Constantine initiated a set of laws limiting the rights of Roman non-Christians. Regardless of the origin, one thing is crystal clear: It's not what Jesus stood for.
His parables and lessons were focused on love and forgiveness, a message of "come as you are, not as you should be." The bulk of his time was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to help themselves. At the very least, Christians should be counted on to lend a helping hand to the poor and others in need.
This brings us to the big issues of American Christianity: Abortion and gay marriage. These two highly debatable topics will not be going away anytime soon. Obviously, the discussion centers around whether they are right or wrong, but is the screaming really necessary? After years of witnessing the dark side of religion, Marc and I think not.
Christians should be able to look past their differences and agree to disagree. This allows people to discuss issues with respect for one another. Christians are called to love others just as they are, without an agenda. Only then will Christianity see a return to its roots: Loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.
The Apostle Paul describes this idea of love beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
But don't take our word for it; look at what Jesus and his followers stood for in his time and what Christianity stands for today. Then come to your own conclusion.
Now that's something that's hard to argue with...if you have a mind that can think for itself...
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